
Gass, F . 8 4-0 
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DR. PROUDFIT'S SERMON, 
ON THE DSATK OF DE WITT CLZNTOW. 

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DR. PROUDFIT'S SERMON, 
ON THE DEATH OF DE WITT CXZMTTOlir. 



Jlroccclrfnjjs of the iJar. 



AT a meeting of the members of the bar of the cotmty of Washington, 
held at tho court house, in the town of Salem, on the 12th day of March, 18'26 — 
Hon. Gerkit Wendell, was called to the chair, and Jesse S. Leigh, Esq. appoint- 
ed secretary. 

The members of this bar being deeply impressed with the very able and elo- 
quent discourse delivered by the Rev. Dr Proudfil, at liis Church in this village, 
in commemoration of the death of the late Gov. Clinton : — 

Therefore, rMolred, That a committee of three members of thft bar be ap- 
pointed to wait on the Rev. Dr. Proudfit, and request a copy of his discourse for 
publication. 

Resolved, That John M'Lean, jun. Samuel Stevens, and Roswell Weston^ 
Bsquires, compose that committee. 

GERRIT WENDELL, Chairman. 
Jesse B. Lctcn, Secretary. 



Ag,ev\cy of God u\ t\\e E\e\atiovA o5 ^lao: 



'\iV«.«VW%%%i%.4 %/W%'WWWX^^'W«VW%^/W^-W%i««%— 



A SERMON, 



COMMEUORATIVE OF THE EMINENT TALENTS, AND PRIVATE VIRTUES, AKD FDBLIC 

SERVICES OF UIS EICELLENCY DE AVITT CLINTON, LATE GOVERNOR 

Of THE STATE OP NEW-VORK : 



PREACHED AT SALEM, J\'. Y. M.1RCH 11, 182S. 



— — >*« 
BY ALEXANDER PROUDFIT, D. D. 



SALEM, If. Y. 

|}nntrD tit; DoHH & .Stcbcnsoit. 
1828. 






CORRBSPOBTDEN'CZ!. 

Rev. Dr. v9. Proudfii, 

.i«,„»„ f ,p— I" ^fPliwco with « resolution, adopted at a meeting of the gen 
Uemen of the bar of the oounty of Washington, we have the pleasure of traneLt- 
«mg to you a copy of that resolution, and of respectfully requsstina that you will 
consent to furnish us with a copy of the discourse referred to in that resolution, 
With a yiew to its pubhcation. ' 

Respectfully your Ob't Sorv'ta. 

Salem, March 13, 1828. SAMUEL STEVENS 

ROSWELL WESTON. 

Rev. Or. Ji. Praudfit, ^'""' ^""'^ ^^- ^^2«- 

.«»,!», „r,„ .^''Z^if *r° undersigned. Committee of Arrangements, cordially 
tender you o^; thanks for the able and eloquent discourse delivered by you, at 
the reques of the citizens of this town, on the occasion of the death of theliment- 
ed Uoy. Clinton, and respectfully solicit a copy of that discourse for publication. 

Respectfully your Ob't Serv'ts. 

JOHN MLEAN, iun. 
JOHN M MURRAY, 
WILLIAM MFARLAND. 
ASA FITCH, 
JOHN WILLARD. 

To the CoiRiniUets of the Bar, and of the citizens of S(flem 
Oestlemeb, 

mpmn^fill^fTf ''''"? "''r yo^ ™<J°«st. I transmit a copy of the sermon ccm- 
mv.'^^.I Thp "'""f 1°" l^to Illustrious Chief Magistrate, and regret that. 

Z o?P„. „ '"■f.l"" "I- """" '^"""'' ' ^^'^ "^^ *^^^ «° '^"-l" i' >"0" worthy o 
tlie occasion and the audience. ""•»*■/ uj 

With great respect, I am your friend, and humble servant, 

S^ler., March IC, 1S98. ALEXANDER PROUDFIT. 



SfiRMOir. 



. ASD IN THINE BAND IT IS TO MAKE GREAT 1 ChrOTl. Xxix. 1^. 

HOW AP.E THE MIGHTY FALLEN ! 2 SflCT. i. 19. 

TO contemplate llie perfeclions of God, as they 
are exliibited in tlie immense variety of his works; in 
all (hat diversity of property which he has imparted, 
both to matter and mind, is an exercise equally plea- 
sant and profitable. Amidst these contemplations we 
discern a display of wisdom, and power, and munifi- 
cence to which there are no hojmds, and of sovereign- 
ty which we are constrained to admire and adore. In 
the inanimate parts of creation, one object delights 
with its variegated colouring ; another with its exqui- 
site odouis, while the magnificence of another excites 
our admiration and awe. There is scarcely a compa- 
rison between the atom which floats in the air, invisi- 
ble to the naked eye, and that Prince of luminaries 
which rolls majestic in the heavens, and in his course 
sheds light and heat and joy through every part of (he 
system which we inhabit. In those various orbs which 
are connected with our world, and on which we fre^ 
quently gaze with delight, different degrees of gran- 
deur are visible. " The glory of the celestial is one, 
and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is 
one glory of the sun, and another glory of (he moon, 
and anodier glory of the stars ; for one s(ar difTereth 
from another star in glory." >Vho can count all the 



links of that mij^lily chain in animated being which 
extends from tlie lilllo insect, that moves unperceived 
upon the earth, to the eajjle, who fearlessly stretches 
her wings, and explores the trackless air, and mounts 
up to the heavens, and, as the patriarch sublimely ex- 
presses it, " inaketh her nest on high?" If we pursue 
our contemplations, and n)ake a transition from the 
regions of matter to those of mind, the same diversity 
appears in (he system of rational being. We read in 
scripture of "angel and arch-angel," of "cherubim 
and seraphim," of "thrones, and dominions, and prin- 
cipalities, and powers." Even in this heavenly hie- 
rardiy while we discover a diversity of rank, some 
subordinate and others superior, we also behold a di- 
versity in their grade of intellect, one angel soaring 
above another angel in greater expansion of mind. — 
But ]jrobably there is no department throughout the 
empiie of Jehovah where this variety is more visible 
than in the faiiiily of man. While its members are 
created with a difference of external form, varying in 
colour, in complexion, in stature, and strength of bo- 
dy, tjiey differ equally in their intellectual endow- 
ments; in thv.'ir capacities for occupying exalted sta- 
tions, and exerting an important influence in control- 
ling the affairs of the world. And in all this distinc- 
tion it becomes us to realize the sovereign agency of 
Him " who worketh all things after the counsel of his 
own will ;" whose prerogative " it is to make great." 

Fellow-Citizens — We are convened, on the pre- 
sent occasion, by a dispensation of Divine Providence 
both affecting and awful. The Chief Magistrate of 
this commonvvealth ; the man on whom the eyes of 
the people of our own state, of our common country, 
of no inconsiderable portion of the civilized world, 
have been fastened with eager and elevated expecta- 
tions, is among us no more ; no more to direct the 
destinies of our rapidly rising empire; no more to 
prosecute and complete those magnificent schemes of 
public improvement which his own mighty mind had 
projected, and so auspiciously commenced ; no more 
to foster bv his influence and counsels the arts and the 



I 



sciences ; no more (o sooth the anguish of the oppres* 
sed, to dry np the tears of the orphan, and the widow, 
and the fatherless, by devising other means for the 
melioration of their miseries ; no more to cherish bv 
his commanding presence and eloquence those reli- 
gious institutions which contemplate for their object 
the immoital interests of the destitute in our own 
country and throughout the world. By the sovereign, 
mysterious, yet all-wise visitation of the great Arbiter 
of life and of death, he is suddenly removed from us; 
removed in the full vigour of his intellectual strength ; 
in the unabated ardour of his exertions for the public 
welfare ; in the zenith of his usefulness, " when his glo- 
ry was yet fresh in him," and his sun of life had scarce- 
ly crossed its meridian. " How are the mighty fallen !" 
It is an interesting fact in the government of God 
that the same individual rarely, perhaps never, appear- 
ed equally distinguished in the church and in the 
world. Although the members of these kingdoms are 
intermingled in the present, promiscuous state, and 
interwoven by a thousand different relations, yet the 
kingdoms themselves are utterly distinct, and indepen- 
dent of each other; they are subordinate to different 
heads ; they are governed by different codes of law, 
and are instituted for different purposes; the one be- 
ing intended to regulate the destinies of man for time, 
and the other to promote his happiness for eternity ; 
and therefore no man ever appeared equally pre-emi- 
nent in advancing the interests of both. A beneficent 
God is more impartial in the distribution of his ho- 
nours than to accumulate them with such profusion 
on the same person, and render him alike illustrious 
in "that kingdom which is not of this world," and in 
that kingdom which is of this world. When, there- 
fore, an eminent luminary in the church is suddenly 
extinguished; a man celebrated for his gifts, for his 
graces, for his uniform and ardent devotion to the 
honour of his Master, and to the interests of the souls 
of men, there is occasion for the Clirislian to mourn. 
"Samuel liie prophet died, and all Israel lamented 
him." When a Imninarv in the commonwealth is sud- 



8 

denly extinguished ; a magislrale, eminent for the 
splendour of his talents, for the variety and lustre of 
his virtues ; for his faithful and disinterested exertions 
in promoting the welfare of his country and of man- 
kind, the citizen is then called to " put on sackcloth'* 
and mourn the bereavement. " Josiah the king was 
slain in the field of battle," and the sacred historian 
informs us that " all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for 
Josiah : and Jeremiah the prophet lamented for Josi- 
ah, and all the singing men and singing wemen spake 
of Josiah in their lamentations." 

In attempting, with great deference and diffi- 
dence, to direct the reflections of this honourable 
Court, and highly respected audience, in a manner an- 
swerable to the solemnity of the occasion, it is design- 
ed to illustrate the agency of God in the elevation of 
particular men, and notice those moral instructions 
which may be derived from their death. 

I. Individuals are great originally by the supe- 
riority of their intellectual endowments ; by receiving 
from their Creator powers of mind answerable in their 
extent to the loftiness of the station which they are 
designed to occupy, and the arduousness and impor- 
tance of the work which they are destined to accom- 
plish. While the Lord God acts independently and 
without control in every part of his dominions, per- 
forming all his pleasure by an agency invisible, yet 
absolute and irresistible, he executes his purposes by- 
secondary instruments, and furnishes them with every 
qualification requisite for the execution of the work 
which he assigns them. Men are frequently consider- 
ed the authors of their own destinies in the world; 
they are represented as rising to fortune, or fame, or 
influence, by their own exertions with the combina- 
tion of external causes ; and there is a degree of truth 
in the assertion. Much depends on our own prudence, 
and perseverance, and enterprize, with the concur- 
rence of auspicious circumstances, for that grade of 
elevation to which we advance in society, and that in- 
fluence which we possess in controlling the aflfairs of 
the world. Yet, the man who ultimately becomes 



great, was originally great. Tliose emergencies which 
roused him to exertion, and placed hiin in a conspicu- 
ous position were only the occasion of evolving and 
awaking to action talent which formerly lay folded in 
his bosom as its native element. The skilful archi- 
tect, who contemplates the erection of an edifice, a- 
dapts the foundation, both in its extent and solidity, to 
the magnitude of the superstructure which he intends 
to build on it. Any spot of earth, however barren, 
may be rendered in some measure productive by a 
high degree of cultivation, but where extraordinary 
productions are expected the soil itself must be na- 
tively fertile. The acorn by the germination of 
which the oak of most majestic form is produced, dif- 
fers in its original strata from the acorn which produ- 
ces the ordinary tree. These observations are as ap- 
plicable to the menial and moral world as they are to 
the njaterial. When a sovereign God, in his pre- 
science, ordains an individual for some extraordinary 
enterprize; for exploring the untrodden path, or the 
execution of some project beyond the ordinary sphere 
of human exertion, he endows him with a talent com- 
mensurate to the arduousness and magnanimity of the 
design. The mind of such a man is cast in a mould 
of extraordinary dimensions, and all the energy which 
he displays in the projection or prosecution of bold, 
original enterprizes is merely the explosion of genius 
deposited by the hand of his Creator. "There is a 
spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giv- 
eth him understanding." When the tabernacle of 
novel, complicated iiiachinery, was to be constructed 
in the wilderness for the worship of Jehovah, men were 
qualified for the purpose; " they were filled with the 
spirit of God in wiydom, and in knowledge in all man- 
ner of workmanship" for the execution of the design. 
To one the Lord God communicates a vigilance which 
no intrigue can elude ; another he inspires with a for- 
titude of spirit wliicii danger cannot appal ; to another 
he imparts a liriimess of purpus-e which disaster cannot 
dishearten; another he inr-piies with a degree of pa- 
tience which neither toil, nor successive disappoint- 

B 



10 

ments can exhaust; to another he imparts a purify, a 
disinterestedness of motive which no temptation can 
either bribe, or corrupt; another he inspires with a 
spirit for daring enlerprize ; for bold, undaunted ad- 
venture in the moral, or political, or physical world. 
Thus we behold Newton, by the efTorts of his own ge- 
nius, rising spontaneously from his native sphere ; 
with the daring, adventurous flight of the eagle soaring 
to the heavens; surveying those radiant orbs which 
there revolve in infinite space ; numbering and nan>- 
ing them; measuring their magnitudes; ascertain- 
ing their relative positions ; computing the velocity of 
their motions; calculating also their distances from 
each other, and from us. While Newton ranges over 
the untrodden, immeasurable fields of matter, Locke, 
with a talent equally original, and still more acute, 
undertakes to explore the darker region of mind ; pur- 
sues it in all its windings and labyrinths ; evolves its 
most intricate foldings ; analyzes its curious mecha- 
nism ; developes its resources; unfolds its motives, 
and with a magic hand touches ail the springs of hu- 
man action. And yet, althuuiih these men stood a- 
lone, erected like prominent light-houses on the shore 
of oceans of mailer and mind hitherto unexplored, 
were there not thousands who had b«-en educated with- 
in the walls of the same college ; drinking at the sauie 
fountains of ancient and modern literature, and receiv- 
ing instruction froiu the same lips? But they were 
formed by their Creator for venturing out of the ordi- 
nary track ; for taking a wider, more excursive range, 
and exploring an unknown path in which others iniglit 
follow to deeper discoveries of bis perfeclioiis as they 
are displayed in the immensity of his works. And 
while we behold sovereignly in this dispensation of 
the Almighty, we may also discern his infinite wisdom. 
The talent is not lavished where there is not some im- 
portant design to be accomplished. Other Newtons 
are not furnished because there are not oilier systems 
and worlds to be unfolderl to human view, and otli'M- 
Lockes would be superfluous unless the mind of man 
had imdergone an entire revolution in its powers and 
principles of action. 



2d. The Lord God renders men great by assign- 
ing llifm siluaiiuiis on the public Ihealie wliere their 
various talenls may be exeiird in (he most conspicu- 
ous manner, and lo the greatest advantage for the ad- 
vamement of liis own glory, and the interests of their 
generation. Many, without doubt, have passed thro' 
the world in obscurity ; moved unnoticed in tlie hum- 
bler walks of life, who, with the advantages of educa- 
tion and other favourable circumstances, might have 
reflected honour on the most exalted stations in so- 
ciety. 

" Hearts once pregnant with celestial fire, 

*' Hands which the rod of empire mi^ht hare swayed, 

" Or waked to ccstacy the living lyre. 

" But knowledge to their eyes her ample page, 

" Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unrol ; 

*' Chill penury repressed their noble rage, 

" And froze the genial current of the soul." 

A lamp, however liberally replenished with oil, 
or however luminously it blazes forth, must illucnine a 
very contracted sphere unless placed on some emi- 
nence. The natural sun, by having his position in the 
centre, irradiates, and fertilizes, and cheers every orb 
in the system with which he is connected. Thus the 
Disposer of events, when he ordains an individual to 
be great, furnishes some prominent theatre on which 
he may act, and in his providence prepares the way 
for his advancement to occupy it; calls him f<)rtli to 
some elevated situation in society favorable for the 
exercise arid exhibition of all his endowments, both 
natural and acquired. iVJoses was naturally a ^'■oor/Zy 
child, his countenance beamed forth tlie lustre of in- 
nate talent; "he was learned also in all the wisdom 
of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in 
deeds," yet he emerged from obscurity, and rose to 
ever-memorable notice by his call lo execute the pur- 
poses of heaven in the redemption of his kindred from 
the chains of the obdurate Pharaoh. The moral 
gloom, deeper than the bhade.s of midnijiht, wliich had 
settled for ages upon the nations, was the occasion of 
raising to imperishable remembrance in the church a 



1ft 

Luther, a Calvin, a Cranmer, and a Knox, who were 
the instruments of dissipating that darkness by the dif- 
fusion of evangelic light. The groans of the Britons, 
extorted alternately by the incursions of foes without, 
and the oppressions of tyrants among themselves, were 
the occasions of rendering so illustrious in the history 
of civil liberty their Alfreds, and Marlborouglis, and 
Sydneys, and Hamdens: and the revolutionary con- 
flict in our own country, and the consequent establish- 
ment of our popular institutions on the broad basis of 
equal representation, have engraven on monuments 
more imperishable than marble or brass the names of 
our Washington?, and Adamses, and JefTersons, and 
Clintons, and their illustrious compeers and compan- 
ions in the field, and in the cabinet. These men were 
naturally great ; the foundation of their future eleva- 
tion was laid deep, by the hand of their Creator, in the 
original structure of their intellect; and the peculiari- 
ty of the age and country where they respectively a- 
rose merely brought into requisition their native Her- 
culean powers. They were furnished by nature with 
a panoply, and the battles which they were obliged to 
fight; the duties which they were called to perform 
on the broad theatre of the world, afforded opportuni- 
ty for the exercise of every part of their armour. The 
angry storms which they were called to breast; the 
numerous obstacles to be surmounted ; the exigencies 
for which it was necessary to make provision; the 
collision of feeling and of interest, which they were 
obliged either to soften or control, in the boldness of 
their enterprise, required the full exercise of their pa- 
tience, and heroism, and all their intellectual resour- 
ces. And yet although a thousand adventitious, and, 
in our estimation, accidental occurrences co-operated 
in exalting them to the highest pinnacle of human 
greatness, every step which they advanced, from the 
commencement of their elevation until they had reach- 
ed the summit of their glory, was directed by the in- 
visible, all-controlling agency of the sovereign Ruler 
of the Universe. " Promotion cometh neither from 
the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, but 



13 

iiom Jehovah alone. He pulteth down one, and set- 
teth anolher up." All this dominion in the "armies 
both of heaven and of earth" he challengelh as his 
own high and unalienable prerogative. " By nie kings 
reign and princes decree justice ; by me princes rule 
and nobles, even all the judges of the earth." He 
created the world, and founded the church for the dis- 
play of his perfections, and qualifies the instruments 
of his own selection for managing the interests of both. 
Therefore our tribute of respect to the memory of 
distinguished benefactors, either civil or ecclesiastical, 
ought to be mingled with devout emotions of grati- 
tude to that Being who " teaches our senators wis- 
dom ;" who gives purity of motive to our patriots; 
who endows them with talents corresponding to their 
high vocation ; whose peculiar prerogative it is to 
" make great." 

From these reflections on the agency of God in 
raising particular men to distinction, we are ltd to 
contemplate 

n. Those moral instructions which may be deri- 
ved from the death of the illustrious. " How are the 
mighty fallen!" 

1st. In this event we learn the perishable nature 
of all the glory of this world. There is a splendour 
hovering around genius, and fortune, and nol)le rank, 
and high literary attainment, and elevated station, 
which almost necessarily dazzles the eye of the spec- 
tator. Perhaps no one, not the most stoical, the most 
mortified to the world, is capal)le altogether of resist- 
ing the fascinating charm ; but in death the spell is 
instantly dissolved ; the. enchantment is broken, and 
all the brilliancy which formerly fascinated is succeed- 
ed by sullen darkness and gloom. Before the assault 
of this last foe, "the king of terrors," all created dis- 
tinctions are prostrated in promiscuous ruin, and all 
classes of men must bow in prompt, although reluc- 
tant submission. The dart of this fatal archer is le- 
velled with equal execution against the master and 
the slave ; against the loftiest monarch and the most 
insignificant clown. 



u 

" Princes, this clay must be your bed, 
" In spite of all your towers ; 
" The tall, the wise, the reverend head 
" Must lie as low as ours." 

It is no matter how exalted the position which the 
individual occupied ; it is no matter how large the 
sphere which he illumined by the blaze of his genius 
or learning ; it is no matter how many thousands or 
millions he had trodden beneath his feet in the proud 
march of his military prowess; the moment he is 
touched bv the iron sceptre of the monarch of the 
grave his glory is blighted ; " his breath departs ; he 
returns to his earth ; in that very day his thoughts pe- 
rish." Come, most respected hearers, and retire with 
me for a few moments to the grave, and there we may 
see inscribed in characters the most legible vakity 

OF VANITIES ; ALL IS VAKITY : ALL FLESH IS AS GRASS, 
AND ALL THE GLOKY OF MAN IS AS THE FLOWER OF THE 

GRASS. Here you behold the eye, which once dazzled 
with its lustre, now languid and dim; the voice, which 
once delighted, and awed, and overwhelmed with the 
resistless energy of its eloquence, is now silent for 
ever; that countenance, which once beamed intelli- 
gence and good will, has become pale, inexpressive, 
and ghastly; he who once sat majestic upon the throne, 
wearing the crown, waving the sceptre, or who had 
marched at the head of victorious legions, now lies a 
submissive victim at the shrine of this unrelenting, all- 
conquering foe ; and he who claimed houses, or villa- 
ges, or territories as his property is now confined to 
the narrow coffin and grave as his inheritance and 
home. " How are the mighty fallen !" Tell rne, who 
of you could now discrimmate the dust of a Caesar 
from that of the most insignificant soldier who had 
fought in his ranks, or assisted in siezing for him the 
laurel and the palm ? Who of you could distinguish 
the ashes of the sceptred monarch, who once arrogated 
provinces, or continents, or even the world as his do- 
minion, from those of the most abject minion whom 
he had imperiously controlled ? 

2d. We leain from the death of the illustrious 



the folly of relying on created inslrumenls as our de- 
fence or support. We are all naturally prone to ex- 
tremes in relation to those who appear in the charac- 
ter of rulers, either civil or sacred, and are often guil- 
ty of vilifxing the persons, and undervaluing the ser- 
vices of our most generous benefactors. We look 
principally at their supposed imperfections; at their 
omissions of what in our opinion they might have per- 
formed, or at every error, real or imaginary, with 
which they appear chargeable in their official capaci- 
ty, and these defects are industriously and wilfully 
exposed, and even exaggerated. When any new 
trouble occurred in the camp of Israel, during their 
journeyings to Canaan ; when any obstacle impeded 
their march, or an enemy invaded or annoyed, they 
instantly ''murmured against Moses," their disinterest- 
ed, magnanimous deliverer. Again, owing to the 
same infatuation, or atheism which is interwoven with 
our degenerate nature, we often idolize the instru- 
ments of our blessings, and in our estimation substi- 
tute them in the room of a munificent God. W^e ima- 
gine that if particular, prominent personages were re- 
moved ; those who have been long, and signally in- 
strumental in advancing the interests of the cliurcb, 
or of the nation, the loss is irreparable ; that all pro- 
gress in religion, and improvement in the arts, and 
the sciences, and civil government must necessarily 
be arrested. Such conclusions betray a shameful 
and criminal dependence on " the arm of flesh ;" a 
confidence on the creature which ought to be reposed 
exclusively on the Creator, who is able, with infitiite 
ease, to accomplish his purposes without the interven- 
tion of instruments, or to rej)lace otiiers in the room 
of those whom lie removes. Previous to ihe transla- 
tion of Elijah, that prophet of distinguished memory 
under the former dispensation, tlie youthful Elisha 
exclaims, in the language of distrust and desponden- 
cy, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and 
the horsemen thereof!" foreboding that with the trans- 
lation of (he man the safely, and prosperity, and glory 
of the nation must necessarily depait, Perhaps the 



16 

importance of this remark has rarely appeared mott 
obvious than in the history of England at the com- 
mencement of the reformation, Edward the Vllh, 
early appeared on the side of the reformers, and, with 
their cause, identified his own fame, and fortune, and 
destinies for both worlds. Such were the piety, and 
talents, and zeal of this amiable Prince, that the most 
elevated hopes were entertained from his influence in 
promoting the new religion. But the prospects of 
the Protestants were suddenly and awfully clouded, 
in the premature removal by death of this heir appa- 
rent to the throne, and with his body their hopes were 
seemingly entombed. Yet notwithstanding these por- 
tentous forebodings, the light of the reformation con- 
tinued to burst forth ; its radiance was diffused in eve- 
ry direction, and it has been " shining brighter and 
brighter" unto the present day. 

3d. " The mighty fall" that others may have an 
opportunity of advancing on the theatre of public life, 
and in their turn occupying their talents in the service 
of their God, and of their generation. There is a 
constant ebbing and flowing in all the affairs of man, 
and as no particular country or age is honoured by 
the sovereign disposer of events for the accomplish- 
ment of all that is excellent or interesting in the world, 
neither will any individual be permitted to live for 
ever, and monopolize an exclusive pre-eminence. It 
is obviously the divine pleasure that there should be 
a frequent revolution in what is deemed most desira- 
ble or estimable on earth. Rarely do wealth, or ta- 
lent, or influence, or temporal dignities descend thro' 
many successive generations in the same family; and 
agreeably to this plan of the divine administration, 
men, who have been filling up for a considerable time, 
an extended and elevated sphere in society ; who have 
attracted the attention and commanded the admiration 
of others by the lustre of their talents, or the eminence 
of their usefulness are called from the public thea- 
tre that an avenue may be opened for others to ad- 
vance in their roDm, and heroine emulous of the same 
honourable distinction. Moses was employed for re- 



17 



iteeminjf the offVpring of Abraham from their degra- 
dation and servitude in Egypt, Ijut Joshua n)ust intro- 
duce them to the actual possession of the land of pro- 
inise. David, under the inspiration of the Almighty, 
and in the fervour of liis zeal, projected the magnifi- 
cent plan of the temple, and with a liherality honoura- 
ble to liimself and liis cause, furnislied the materials; 
hut for Solomon, his son and succesbor, was reserved 
the glorv of' building the house.' The twelve apostles 
of llie Lamb, " full of the Holy Ghost and of faith," 
laid broad and deep the foundation of the Christian 
Church, but in their oriler they all died, that others, 
tilled with the same Spirit, and fired with the same 
zeal, might carry on the sacred superstructure. Lu- 
ther, and Calvin, and Knox were the primary instru- 
ments of sweeping ofi' that rubbish of superstition, 
with which mercenary priests and princes had for ages 
been concealing the true light, but they rested from 
their labours, atid others have been employed, and 
will be employed in the ditTusion of this light, until its 
radiance is rellected over every land, and the earth is 
illumined with its glory. Our fathers, of venerated 
uiemory, were honored by the God of nations for de- 
monstrating with new evidence, on this western conti- 
nent, the principles of rational lilierty ; for vindicating 
the unalienable rights of man, and creating a new era 
in the intellectual, and moral, and political cotulitiori 
of the world, and afterwards retired from the public 
theatre, and on us their descendants and successors 
rests the obligation of cherishing the sacred deposit; 
of aiming to roll hack this Hood of light to the shores 
of every continent and isle, until the recognition of the 
equal rights of man has become co-extensive with the 
circumference of our globe, and co-eval with the du- 
ration of time. 

The occasion of our meeting and your own ex- 
pectations require that I now advert, for a few mo- 
ments, to the character of our late, illustrious Chief 
Magistrate, whose death we, in common with his fami- 
ly, and friends, and the nation, have been deploring. 
When an individual becomes distinguished in an^ of 



18 

the great deparfmenls of human life, as a poet, or phi- 
losopher, or hero, or divine, different countries often 
appear emulous for the honour of giving him birlh. 
Seven cities in Greece offered their pretensions for 
being regarded as the birth place of the immortal Gre- 
cian bard. Bui in the piesent instance there is no 
room for competitions of this kind. De Witt Clinton 
was a native of our own state, born in the county of 
Orange, in the month of March, 1769. Although he 
was too young to occupy a prominent station during 
our struggle for independence, yet he early embarked 
on the agitated ocean of political life, and, with few 
intervals for repose from its anxieties and toils, has 
been constantly employed in some important, respon- 
sible situation, as an expression of the confidence of 
his fellow citizens in his talents and virtues. He offi- 
ciated alternately as mayor of the city of New-York, 
as a senator in the councils of this state, as a senator 
in the councils of the United States, and by your suf- 
frages has been called, at four different periods, to 
preside over you'in the capacity of Chief Magistrate. 
His exertions, in the cause of his country and of man- 
kind, commenced before he had fully attained the ma- 
turity of manhood, and they terminated only with the 
termination of his earthly existence, as he had been 
attending to the discharge of his official duties on the 
very day which preceded his death ; nay, after the fa- 
tal arrow had left its quiver, and was actually on the 
wing, and had nearly reached its illustrious victim, he 
was mingling familiarly in the society of his children, 
and with the affection of a fond father communicating 
parental instruction and advice. 

" Ah ! cruel dcEith is always near, 
" So frail a thing is man." 

De Witt Clinton was emphatically " rocked in 
the cradle of liberty," and inhaled from his earliest 
infancy its genial, iincontaminated atmosphere. His 
father, James Clinton, sustained, with high reputation 
to himself and his country, the office of Major Gene- 
ral in the aimy of the revolution, and his still more 



49 

chslincn.i.hed relative. George Clinton, vvheiher we 
e oIKh-I his services as a military man, animat.ns the 
le e ous hosts of freemen to the vindication of the,r 
fiXs or as a statesman, deliberat.ng m our publ c 
^ .;i. or a« the oovernor of this state, or as the 
^"pe'sidlnronhe^^nited States, is entitled to a 
[oftv eminence on the roll of American patriot . In- 
deed the love of liberty and an inextinsu.shable zeal 
or IsFomotion appear to have been hereditary m 
hP fa.iiilv from generation to generation. 1 heir 
Irea ancestor lived in England during the arbitrary 
feWm of Charles the first, and, so far as we can a.cer- 
a n, co-operated Avilh the puritans in resisting the en- 
c'oachmentsof that intolerant, licentious prince ; he 
afte. wards retired to Ireland, where he married and 
snent tl e residue of his years. The family e.n.gra ed 
Si tland to the American continent, and settled 
in tliis s ate during the colonial government: And 
from the fiist appearance, on this western horizon, of 
[hat sonnwbich burst forth in the war of the revolu- 
tion, and ultimately issued in the recogml.on of our 
ndepemlence among the sovereignties of the eaith, 
the name of Clinton occupies a large space on the pa- 

^" "U U alt:S[J;r unnecessary, and perhaps would 
be un easonable to detain you with a particular detai 
of the exertions of our late governor m advancing all 
■the mportant interests of our common country, the 
ibe Jand humane arts, the cause of science of agn- 
culture of commerce, of manufactures, and particu- 
? . Iv fn nroiectin<r and prosecuting to its consumma- 
:„' t imt's; en&prodily of modern times, the union 
of the waters of oir interior oceans with those of he 
At ant c an enterprise, the execution of which has 
fxc ted the adniiration and envy of the old world, ha 
"iven to his native state an acknowledged ascendancj 
over an er sisters in the confederacy, and will proba- 
hK rema n a lasting source of emolument o our pub- 
ic tesu 7 T feel no disposition to attribute to his 
eeniuror patriotism the exclusive honour of accom- 
Jli" 1, ^g th^ mighty project of public unprovemenl and 



20 



ft^grandizement. I revere the names of l,is associates 
^vho concurred and co-operated with l.im in U s bene 
Tolent and magnanimot.s enterprise ; for the charader 

such as are dead, I cherish the most profound respect 

edged (hat ,n the commencement and conmletion of 

elela'ti':^ " T'^l Tor promoting the inteUlrand 
elevating (he character of our state, De ^\ ht Clinton 
uniformly acted a prominent part, and exei(ed a n.e" 

oTi^^JiVr ''-'' "'^""^"^ ^^'■^^'' « ^hiusand trees 

casSlv n r """^ '•■'■"'' '^' 'y^' >^t you will oc- 
casionally notice one tree towering above the others • 
s rpassmg them in the loftiness of^^its summit! and the 
Wider expansion of its i,ranches. 1„ gazing upon t le 
evening firmament you behold innumerable orbs of 

he magnificent concave, you discover one star out- 
bm-ning (he others, and differing from them by "great- 
er degrees of glory," -^ * 

In bis political career, the views of Clinton did 
not always harmonize with those of his companions in 
the cabinet nor of his fellow-citizens at large Colli- 
DecTed .Z'"?' '"^'''^ ""perfect state, mtt be x- 
bfue 1; no • "''^^•"^'"^fi^^ >vith moderation contri- 
^onuZ '"^^"^^•^erable degree, to the safely of our 
popular government. Besides, men enuallv erpal am 

ShTn' 'T '" ''' ^■""'■'" -'"•'^s^n' 

ila o;[n?t "^. ""''"''" ^'^^^'"^"^ sentiments in 
hp l.n *"/l'^'"^*^' appropriate means for promotin-^ 

the general interests of both. But no other eulo"? 

over Ins memory is necessary ; no higher eulogy can 

te'troro?;^ "'"":^ c-ommanding.con"iLng 
est.mon> of the possession which he maintained in 

I tlnn Ihp'? ""l' ^^-^f"'' ^"^' '''' ''"^ '-'fl'-^tions of 
ced I VI. ! M-'' "''''^■'V"''''« instantaneously produ- 
ced by (he intelligence of his death ; it was ver 1 v the 
Fhork of an earthquake, felt not merely thm' 4 he 

bTrl'-f "■'^ ^T^^' '-"'^ ^•'^-'^' •^'"' '■" <')edt; where 
I'e lesided, and among (he honourable the membe 'of 



21 

the legislature, which was then in session, l)Ul felt thro' 
ever> nerve of the state and the nation. In the litera- 
ry, and (noral, and political world, it resembled one 
of those mighty concusbions in tlie natural, by which 
the very elements are auitated ; and tiie earth trem- 
bles to its centre. " The prejudices of party were in- 
stantly ai)sorbed in tire overllowin;^ tide of national 
grief." All hearts were apparently appalled ; every 
countenance was sad, and tlitre was one gtneial, spon- 
taneous burst of lamentaticm, " how are the mighty 
fallen! a void is created in the councils of our state, 
and of our nation, and of tlie civilized world, which 
a man, with no ordinary dimensions of mind, is capable 
of filling up. Who, that witnessed the: melancholy 
scene, can forget the melted hearts, and plaintive 
sighs, and llovving tears, of his personal fiiends, and 
political associates, when they took their final glance 
of his earthly remains, majestic in ruins, before the 
coflin concealed them for ever from mortal view ? — 
His venerable form, his imposing attilufle, liis digni- 
fied deportment, his majestic countenance, a vivid ex- 
pression of the loftiness of the spirit wiiich enlivened 
it, his eye beaming intelligence and benignity, and 
his voice iniparting instruction, must long be fresh in 
our recollections. " Claruin el vcnerahih nomcn." Cu- 
riosity might prompt us to pursue the immortal spirit, 
bursting from its imprisonment in the body, and wing- 
ing its eventful, awful flight ; but I repress these bold, 
unwarranted speculations. ])eath is the horizon which 
terminates the vision of mortals. The curtain which 
conceals the arcana of the invisible world is neither to 
be lifted up, nor drawn aside, by presumptuous hands. 
Men absorbed in the pursuits of science, or phi- 
losophy, or politics, often stand aloof from any atten- 
tion to the interests of religion. In the pride of their 
fancied superiority they regard its concerns as suited 
to more vulgar, contracted minds ; to those who have 
more leisure than themselves, or who are occupied in 
speculations less sublime and interesting. From this 
community of "sciolists" De Witt Clinton, with Sir 
Isaac JN'ew'ton at his side, and Locke, and Boyle, and 



22 

Bacon, and Addison, and a host of others of the tirst 
order of inleJlecl, and the hiohest altairiinents in lite- 
rature, will stand to future ages an honourable excep- 
tion. He evinced an unfeigned respect for Ihe Chris- 
tian religion, and exerted an important influence in 
promoting its more general extension ; be was occa- 
sionally employed in the investigation of its myste- 
ries, and defence of its doctrines, and I have often 
heard him expressing an ardent solicitude that his own 
children might be ranged in the ranks of its advocates 
and champions. 

While, therefore, you find the literary journals 
of our own country, and of foreign countries, replen- 
ished with his laboured disquisitions on ethics, on ju- 
risprudence, on political economy, on the laws of na- 
ture and of nations, you also find the annual reports 
of our benevolent institution?, of our bible, and mis- 
sionary, and education societies, adorned and enriched 
with his animated and affectionate addresses. None 
who feel interested in the distribution of the scrip- 
tures, and in the prosperity and glory of the church, 
can peruse, without an increased veneration for his 
character, the following extract from his polished, pow- 
erful, and eloquent pen. " Christianity being a reve- 
lation from God, in diffusing the sacred volume we 
perform a solemn duty, and render an all-important 
benefit to the world. The Christian religion, armed 
with power, adorned with light, fortified by truth, and 
revealed by God ; foretold in the prophecies, attested 
by miracles, sealed with the blood of saints, and sub- 
limed with the morality of heaven, is presented to 
man in order to secure his felicity in the regions of 
eternal bliss."* He was connected with almost all 
those great institutions which constitute the glory of 
the present age, and, from its first organization, was a 
rice president of the American Bible Society, that 
moral luminary which has already irradiated " with the 
light of immortality and life'' no inconsiderable por- 
tion of this western continent, and presided, at its last 
anniversary, with his characteristic dignity and zeal. 

" His addresses before tlie American Bible Society in 1823 and 25. 



23 

Although governor Clinlon was distinguished for 
liberality of feeling and conduct, towards the "excel- ' 
lent" of all denominations, yet his principles, on the 
subject of ecclesiastical polity, both from educa- 
tion and attachment, were decidedly Presbyterian; 
these he regarded, not only as the most scriptural, as 
the most liberal in their provisions, as the least liable 
to prostitution from the ambition and intolerance of 
the clergy, but as the most congenial to the spirit of 
our republican government : He was, for several years, 
president of the Presbyterian Education Society, an 
institution formed for the pui pose of furnishing a com- 
petent ministry for the supply of our frontier settle- 
ments. His sentiments on this subject are happily ex- 
pressed in a learned and luminous address, recently 
delivered before a literary society connected with 
Union College. " Christianity," he remarks, " in its 
essence, its doctrines, and its forms, is republican; it 
inculcates the natuial equality of man ; it teaches our 
descent from a common parent, and it points to our 
origin and end ; to our nativity, and graves ; and to 
our immortal destinies as illustrations of this impres- 
sive truth." 

There was one prominent feature in the charac- 
ter of Clinton, by which he stood distinguished from 
other illustrious men in general, who have been the 
ornament of our nature and world, and which, per- 
haps, contributed as much to its moral grandeur and 
perfection as any excellence which we have noticed. 
\Vhile he possessed a mind capable of the widest and 
loftiest intellectual range; comprehending, with an in- 
tuitive glance, the most intricate and difficult problem 
in science or national policy ; interests which to others 
appeared inferior in their importance, neither escaped 
his attention nor were left without his patronage. He 
reflected that the smaller wheels in a vast complicated 
machine were essential to its due proportions and or- 
der equally with the larger. He fostered, therefore, 
with parental solicitude and affection our infant 
sc hools, our Sabbath and Lancasterian Schools, our 
Asylum for the Orphan, for the Insane, for the Deaf 



24 

arid Dumb, and cherished also wifh a generous ardour 
the interests of our Academies and Colleges. But his 
favourite object in (he empire of letters, and one to 
which he devoted his fondest affections, and promoted 
with unremitting solicitude, was the system of Com- 
mon Schools, which are so successfully established in 
our state. These he regarded as the mo'^t benevolent 
in their results, tending to elevaie the children of the 
poor to their proper rank in society, and open for them 
every avenue to offices of emolument and honour, in 
common with the children of the opulent, by extending 
to them the elements of education ; these he also con- 
sidered as constituting, under the auspices of Divine 
Providence, the principal, the exclusive guarantee for 
the permanency of our popular institutions. It was 
bis great political axiom; one which was frequently 
the theme of his conversation with private friends, and 
under the influence of which he was actuated in every 
part of his official conduct, that a population ignorant 
or licentious is utterly incapable of self-government ; 
and on the other hand, that a nation, enlightened, and 
virtuous, and pious, can never be enslaved. The hal- 
lowed flame kindled at the altars of science and reli- 
gion, is inextinguishable as the lamps of heaven. He, 
therefore, remarks, in the address, to which we have 
already alluded, "Education includes moral no less 
than intellectual culture; (he georgicksof the heart no 
less than of the head ; and we must emphadcally look 
up to a general diffusion of knowledge as the palladi- 
um of a free government ; (he guarantee of the repre- 
sentative system; the ^gis of our federative exis- 
tence." These sentiments perfectly harmonize with 
the following admonitions of the immortal founder of 
our republic, in his farewell address to the nation 
which he had defended with his sword, and fostered 
wi(h his counsels and benedicdons. " Of all (he dis- 
posidons and habits which lead to political properity, 
religion and morality are indispensable supports. The 
mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to 
respect and (o cherish (hem. Promo(e, (hen, as an 
object of primary importance, institutions for the ge* 



25 

neral difi'usion of knowledge. In proportion as the 
structure of a government gives force to public opin- 
ion, it is essential that public opinion should be en- 
lightened." 

I trust that I need feel no apprehensions of being 
impeached with servile adulation, or with an attempt 
to give an exajjgerated colouring to the character of 
the illustrious dead : Any extiavagant indulgences 
of imagination would be equally unliecoming the so- 
lemnity of the occasion, or the sanctity of the office 
which I sustain, or of the place where I now stand, 
and indeed derogatory to the memory of our depart- 
ed benefactor and friend. His name is embalmed in 
the alfeclions of the fatherless, and the orphan, and 
the widow ; it is embalmed in the tender recollections 
of the patrons of the literary, and religious, and bene- 
volent institutions which adorn our country and ajje. 
It is embalmed in the tears not only of his own family, 
but of the nation ; and posterity and the civilized 
world will be the repositories of his fame. Asa patri- 
ot, as a statesman, as a philosopher, as a philanthro- 
pist, as a benefactor of the poor, as a generous patron 
of the sciences and liberal arts, as the ardent advocate 
of every magnanimous measure, which tended to the 
moral or political elevation of his native state, or to 
perpetuate the liberties of his country ; as the un- 
feigned friend of every institution whidi contempla- 
ted for its object, the melioration of the miseries of 
his fellow men, or the promotion of their immortal inte- 
rests, the fame of De Witt Clinton will roll down the 
tide of time, augmenting in its effulgence with each 
successive age, while religion, or learning, or civil li- 
berty are appreciated in our world. His name is al- 
ready inscribed on the same roll with a Washington, 
and the honourable few, thinly scattered, in ditl'erent 
regions and distant ages, who lived not for themselves 
or their families, but for their country and for man- 
kind. 

And now, fellow-citizens, amidst those melancho- 
ly privations which we are experiencing, year after 
year, may we not resume the plaintive exclamation, 

D 



2\> 

" Our fathers where are they ?" Those venerable men 
who (ought for us in the field ; who debated for us in 
the furum ; who deliberated for us in the cabinet, and 
in their fervent supplications in the pulpit carried our 
appeal to the God of nations, are gone : We have 
seen them gliding along the stream of time until, with 
a few exceptions, they are all merged in "eternity's 
ocean." And whether we regard the purity of their 
patriotism, or the soundness of their political wisdom, 
or the fervour of their love of country, or the disinte- 
restedness of their exertions, a constellation more 
bright, a constellation so bright, has rarely shed its 
lustre on this earth in any country or age. Rome 
Could, indeed, boast of her Ca?sar, and Greece of her 
Alexander, and France of her Napoleon, but the pre- 
eminence of these men consisted in the accumulation 
of those miseries which they were the instruments of 
irflicling on mankind. The prostration of the liber- 
ties of the world was the rude basis on which they at- 
tempted to rear the fabric of their fame. Their course 
was that of the comet, which scorches and consumes 
whatever lies within the sphere of its influence ; and 
the groans of the oppressed and the bereaved ascend- 
ed, not to the mercy-seat for benedictions on their 
heads, but to the awful throne of justice for the exe- 
cution of vengeance. Ovr patriots were actuated by 
purer and nobler princi[>les. Their elevation consist- 
ed, not merely in the pre-eminence of their talents, 
but of their virtues, and of those blessings which they 
Were instrumental in diffusing. All solicitude for 
their own ease, or fame, or fortune, was seemingly ab- 
sorbed in deeper solicitude for the welfare of their 
ofTspring, and of their country, and for the emancipa- 
tion of a subjugated, and degraded world. Their 
march resembled that of the sun, which vivifies, and 
exhilerates, and cherishes, wherever it shines. But, 
although these venerable men are gone, how large is 
the legacy which they be((ueathed I They have left 
the result of their political experience to instruct 
us ; the example of their virtues to be iniitated by us, 
and the patrimony of freedom, civil and sacred, to en- 



2» 

rich us, and to be improved by us. Yes, thai fair in- 
heritance they have transmitted to us unincumbered; 
and our charter to it is written in the blood of mar- 
tyred heroes, and patriots, and sages. Brethren, there 
is a responsibility resting upon us, their posterity and 
successors, which does not rest on the population of 
any other portion of the globe. More has been done 
for us, and therefore more is reasonably required of 
us. Indeed, as a nation, from the commencement of 
our history, we have been distinguished by the God 
of Providence from all the other nations of the earth. 
In contemplating his dealings with our fathers, when 
they tremblingly placed their feet on the shores of this 
western waste ; their protection amidst the incursions 
of the aboriginal inhabitants; their triumph when 
compelled by a sense of self-justice to repel the impo- 
sitions of the parent country ; their harmony of senti- 
ment in the digestion and adoption of our unparallel- 
ed civil constitution; our undisturbed repose while 
the tempest of war has been frequently bursting forth, 
and desolating the fairest portions of the eastern 
world ; the progress of the finer arts, of literature, of 
commerce, of agriculture, and of the interests of reli- 
gion ; when all these facts are brought to our recollec- 
tion, we are constrained, with emotions of amazement 
and of gratitude, to ask ' What hath .lehovah wrought?' 
I think of it, and speak of it with profound humility 
and awe, that, in his dispensations to us he has appa- 
rently departed from his ordinary track in dealing 
with the nations of the earth. His conduct originally 
with the colonies, and afterwards with the confedera- 
ted states has approached nearer to miracle than his 
procedure with any people since the redemption of 
Israel (torn their bondage in Egypt and Babylon.— 
Holding in their hand the staff of the promise, our 
pilgrim fathers ventured on the mountain-wave of tlie 
Atlantic, and reached the margin of this hemisphere a 
little, impoverished, disheartened band, and to how 
many millions have they already multiplied ? How 
has the " desert blossomed," and the barren wilderness 
under their cultivating hand become ' a fruitful field'' 



28 

Where once stood the unsightly, miserable hut of the 
Indian, you now behold the magnificent, hospitable 
mansion of civilized man, and the temples of devodon 
rearing their hallowed spires ; you hear the melody 
of the "songs of salvation" bursting harmonious from 
ten thousand, thousand voices where nothing had been 
heard for ages but the howling of savage beasts, or 
the yells of more savage men; you see the lights of 
science and religion illumining and cheering alike the 
humble cottage and the splendid palace, and ail the 
bounties of Providence, and the substantial enjoy- 
ments of life poured forth in rich profusion on the ta- 
bles of the industrious, virtuous poor, no less than on 
those of the opulent. Here no distinctions of rank or 
character are recognized ; none but those which are 
the result of an honourable competition for stations of 
emolument or trust. In the closet, and in the family, 
and in the sanctuary, we ofTer our orisons to the Au- 
thor of our blessings, and there is none to disturb. No 
supercilious prelate " lords it over the conscience" of 
the Christian; no hungry tax-gatherer invades and 
plunders the field of the citizen. "Every man sits" 
peacefully " under liis own vine, and beneath the sha- 
dow of his own fig-tree." 

Thou Arbiter of worlds, who hast been in a ma,n- 
ner so signal, the God of our fathers, continue thy 
smiles to us although their degenerate descendants; 
give to our civil magistrates, and our ministers of re- 
ligion, and to ail classes of our citizens " that right- 
eousness which exalteth a nation :" May thy benedic- 
tion descend in liberal measure on our beloved off- 
spring, from generation to generation : May there be 
no limit to the duration of the liberties, and prosperi- 
ty, and glory of our favoured country, but the con- 
summation of time and the dissolution of worlds. 

" Hail, O land, long may old time behold 

" Freedom o'er thee her standard wide unfold, 

" While ages shall roll on : 

" Till to a chaos drops again this ball, 

" Till worlds to priningenial nothing fall, 

" And quencU'd thy blaze, O Sun." 



